Last month, I had the pleasure of seeing an enthralling revivalist group called The Heavy Heavy perform at the World Cafe Live, in Philadelphia. The Heavy Heavy’s iconic vintage sound, combined with the purple & red ambiance of the stage, transported me right back to 1969. To say I was hooked from the start would be an understatement. Rocking out to a mix of the band’s original tunes, along with some of my favorite folk rock covers, was quite the way to spend my evening. More recently, I sat down with band leads Georgie Fuller and Will Turner to poke the brains behind The Heavy Heavy. Packed with their charismatic nature and charming insight, I could not help but share our conversation with all of you. Let’s get to know The Heavy Heavy together…
Clare: “On your website you describe yourselves as lifelong musicians. What are some of your earliest memories of music– whether that be picking it up and playing it yourself or hearing it somewhere that you can remember?”
WT: “I’ve always grown up with my parents blasting Creedence, Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Animals, and all those bands, so my pathway into it was sort of inevitable. I was gonna pick up the guitar as soon as I could and just start playing my favorite records, so I've always been a guitarist since day one. I picked up guitar when I was about 5.”
GF: “Didn’t you have like three lessons at school, and then you were like ‘I don't need lessons…’”
WT: “Yes, my path is really straightforward, but [Georgie’s] got a nice story.”
GF: “Yeah, I grew up on the same stuff. I didn’t pick up an instrument–I used to play piano–but my first memory of recognizing music was at a family barbecue. My parents used to have one of those big, proper old speaker systems, with the vinyl and the tape player and the massive speakers on the side. I was outside on the patio, with my dad at the barbecue, and I was about knee-height. I can't remember if it was “Brown Sugar” or “Start Me Up,” and one of those was on. I was like 4 or 5, and I caught my dad’s foot tapping, so my little child self went ‘His foot… That's weird! Why is he moving his foot?’ And secondly, ‘something makes sense with the music?’ That’s kind of the first memory I have of putting rhythm together and how you can move to it. I was always singing and obsessed with lyrics–I still am–and was always stealing my dad’s CD case– you know, The Stones, or GNR, or whatever it was–and taking the booklets upstairs to memorize lyrics of using heroin and sleeping with women and stuff. It's too funny.”
Clare: “That is too good. I think most of us have our parents to thank for the love of great music. I figured that may be where you both started. I love the male-female harmonies within your music. It honestly brought me right back to seeing Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, earlier this summer. Totally got that vibe. With that being said, who would you say some of your musical inspirations are?”
GF: “Well, actually, not directly from [Plant & Krauss], but we adore them as a duo, and their albums are incredible. Robert Plant is obviously a massive influence, but more like Delaney & Bonnie, Jefferson Airplane, the Mamas & the Papas, Fleetwood Mac. But as a contemporary version, yeah, I see it.”
WT: “They’re great. That Raising Sand album is one of the most amazing albums I’ve ever heard. All of that and The Doors, Buffalo Springfield.”
GF: “While they don’t have a male-female harmony, if you throw in some female vocals, then suddenly you’re entering a world of Crosby, Stills & Nash meet the Mamas & the Papas.”
Clare: “That is so great, they’re all some of my personal favorites–especially CS&N. I love them. What has it been like touring in America? Any interesting memories to share so far or a particularly favorite stop?”
GF: “There have been some amazing tour stops. We played our first sold-out show in Minneapolis. That was incredible!”
Clare: “Congrats!”
GF: “Thank you! And again, a sold out show in Chicago, so those shows are always electric. Particularly, on a debut tour, when you’re just starting to introduce yourselves. To have that energy in the room, with people who have driven for like 8 hours. You’re like ‘What the fuck, man? How do you even know who we are at this point?!’”
WT: “Right, it’s been amazing. We are loving it. We’re in Boston right now, and it’s great.”
GF: “Yeah we're playing at a place that has been described to us as a dive bar with a great vibe. I was not expecting the energy from the audience that we received last night.”
WT: “People were making some serious shapes last night– it was all happening!”
Clare: “Too cool. It was so great chatting with you both, after the show in Philly. Is interacting with fans something you have the opportunity to do, often?”
GF: “Yeah, we get to do it after every show, and we love it.”
WT: “It’s so great.”
GF: “It’s amazing meeting people, as I said, just being on our debut tour and making a splash in the U.S., as a British band. It's the goal for most bands, to break America. To be coming over here, it's such a joy to meet people and hear their stories and how they heard of us. It's great to hear what they loved and who they're going to bring next time!”
WT: “Hearing what people have to say about our music, it’s different every night. Whether it's John Phillips [of the Mamas & the Papas] or Led Zeppelin, people pick out different stuff every night. It’s amazing what people get out of it and to hear people’s perceptions of us.
GF: “It’s cool meeting different–oh, what’s the word–age groups…”
Clare: “All different generations?”
GF: “Yeah, all different generations. We played a very, very small show–almost private–with only about 50 tickets, in Charlotte. We met someone who came to the show and said that he and his wife were there and that their children loved The Heavy Heavy. So I said, ‘Well, why aren’t your children here with you?’–thinking they were going to be teenagers or something–but he said they're 7, 5, and 4. He had even sent us to his mother who's in her 70s, and she really digs it. And then you’ve got young women, who are our age, coming down and supporting, which is super important to me. So, it's just amazing to see all the generations & getting to connect and chat with them.”
Clare: “I absolutely loved your cover of “Lonesome L.A. Cowboy”–I’m a huge NRPS fan. I also saw you just released your cover of Father John Misty’s “Real Love Baby” that I also got to hear live. Do you always incorporate covers and different eras of music into your sets?”
WT: “We concentrate on the 60s and early 70s, for sure. It’s cool to put more modern songs through that sound world. We haven’t got a closed-door policy on any song, really.”
GF: “No, it’s just whatever feels right, you know. The Father John Misty song already sounds like a 60s pop song. When you team it with the sound we create, suddenly you have that classic contemporary vibe, the way our ears want to hear it.”
Clare: “I also love your originals, and I saw that your tune “Go Down River” has over a million streams on Spotify. That is so amazing and exciting! What was that like having your song take off and perform so well?”
GF: “Pretty nuts.”
WT: “It’s a little bit nuts, yeah. Considering how fast it’s gone from nothing to quite a lot of activity… that’s the biggest factor for me. We sort of shot up in a short amount of time, which is so great, man. I grew up thinking that [60s and 70s music] was maybe a done deal, and we wouldn't see music like what we're doing being done again. Let alone being taken seriously, being signed to a record label, appearing on television, and all the rest of it. It's a dream come true, really. It’s mind-blowing, and we have to pinch ourselves, especially with our tour in America happening. It’s just nuts.”
Clare: “I am so happy for you guys, it must be so much fun. Now for myself, who listens to primarily older music, it’s so cool to explore and hear more and more new stuff. I mean, modern bands of the likes of yours pretty much sound the same as those old rockers. They have the same vibe, and they aren’t dead and/or decrepit, so I can actually see them in concert!
GF: “There’s a whole movement happening, isn’t there? When you look at Harry Styles or Leon Bridges, or Florence & The Machine—the way she’s dressing. She’s gone full 70s, sexy lingerie. And then Arctic Monkeys have just come out and released their new stuff, and he’s dressed like fucking Bowie in the 70s! It’s happening.”
Clare: “It’s so true. Pretty much every genre and subculture from back in the day is coming back in its own way, with a twist of new style and technology.”
GF: “For a long time, it’s felt stagnant, in terms of where we're going with music in the popular sphere. I feel like with the birth of technology and laptops, we got backed into a corner of just using that stuff. Now everyone’s kind of gone ‘Fuck that! I’m going to revert and get back to my roots again!’”
Clare: “And for good reason! So, did COVID-19 have a huge impact on you guys with music production or getting out and doing shows?
GF: “Well, we formed this in September/October 2019. We played two acoustic gigs and then COVID-19 happened, when it was just the two of us.”
WT: “We weren’t really moving or rolling at that point.”
GF: “We took the rest of the year to finesse a bunch of songs, and then we selected 5–which is now 6 with “Why Don't You Call?”–and put them online in November of 2020. Then, we spent 2021 getting a band together and writing A LOT.”
WT: “You know, I record everything at home by myself, so I was able to dig in and just make, make, make. Either way, it was almost a blessing.”
Clare: “I mean there are two ways you could really go from there. Let it eat you alive and suffer or make something beautiful out of it.”
GF: “It’s funny that, at the time, I thought it was eating me alive. Then I look back and something beautiful happened.”
Clare: “Maybe a little bit of both…
It undoubtedly was a little bit of both. With each dreamy harmony or killer high note they sing, The Heavy Heavy reminds us that rock 'n roll is certainly not dead. I am beyond thankful for musicians like Georgie and Will, who truly are reviving that killer 60s and 70s sound. Don’t just take it from me, The Heavy Heavy have an amazing discography that you need to hear for yourself. The band still has a few remaining U.S. tour dates to catch, before they head back to Europe. If you’re looking to groove, stream their incredible original tunes or their new cover of Father John Misty’s “Real Love Baby,” on your go-to platform. If you’re reading this on the day I publish it (you’re a real one) then you can catch The Heavy Heavy TONIGHT on Jimmy Kimmel Live! How cool is that?! Keep rocking, Georgie & Will!
Peace,
Clare 🧿
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